100 Words of a Bond
by BandGeek99
Summary: Part II: Reject-In which Deryn suffers for her love and Alek gets his sketch. 100 theme challenge. Alek/Deryn, various other parings.
1. Der Singende Mädchen

_So I wanted to try my hand at a 100 challenge project, this time for Leviathan. I love the series; Deryn and Alek are fun characters to get into. I'm using a random word generator; the first was "Swimming". So this came from that._

_Rated for some non-explicit mention of bathing in a hot spring. Don't go getting your knickers in a bunch._

_The song is "Annachie Gordon", a traditional Scottish folk song from the 1820's. There are several beautiful version of the song out; look it up if you'd like something to listen to while you read. Its worth it; it almost makes me cry._

_Please enjoy, critique is appreciated!  
_

Theme 1: Swimming

* * *

**Der Singende ****Mädchen**

Alek wondered why Dylan was so private. After all, they had known each other for very nearly a year; Alek had shown him all of his secrets. Why was Dylan so protective of his own? Alek was an _archduke_, a damned _Emperor_, and yet Dylan said nothing.

By the time the _Leviathan_ arrived in Japan, the Austrian heir had determined that he'd do whatever it took to get the Scot to open up to him. He didn't care if he had to have Bovril follow and harass the boy across the entire island nation, _it would happen_.

He was unsure what to do, though. All throughout his childhood, Alek had never really had many friends. The children of cooks, maids, and other various employees could only provide so much companionship for a child of Alek's lineage (at least, that was what Count Volger had always told him). Relationships with people his age had been few and far between and Alek was by no means skilled at such things. How was he to get Dylan to spill his guts? For the most intelligent teenager on the ship, the poor boy really was people-stupid.

Upon their arrival in Japan, the archduke and his entourage were treated like kings, as well as the crew of the Leviathan, who brought news of the war in Europe. Their stay was to be short; just long enough to ensure pleasant relations between Great Britain and her allies and Japan, restock the ship, and take off for San Francisco, California. By the last night, Alek still had not made any progress with Dylan.

He couldn't sleep that night. The fact that he'd made so little progress irked him terribly and he couldn't understand why he couldn't figure Dylan out. It just wasn't fair…! He knew all about Alek, why couldn't Alek know everything about him?

At half past eleven that night, Alek tossed the covers off of him. There was no way he could possibly sleep; maybe he needed a nice walk in the moonlight to help him recover from his defeat.

Somehow, the boy managed to slip out off the airship unseen and headed towards the bath house nearby. He felt like rolling up his pants and putting his feet in the bath; it was relaxing. Maybe it would help. His rubber-soled shoes were strangely quiet against the stone path and he kept his hands in his pockets, a posture unbecoming of an archduke, but one necessary should someone glimpse him.

Upon approaching the hot spring, he could hear a voice, a single voice, in the darkness. It was faint at first, but grew stronger as he grew closer. A woman's voice. A deep, mature sounding voice, singing in English with… a Scottish accent…?

He came closer to the bath, though all reason was screaming at him to turn and return to the ship. Ignoring sense, he stepped into the enclosure around the spring, trying to see through the thick steam on the chilly evening.

Faintly, he could make out the silhouette of a young woman, slender but not completely without a figure. She stood in the water, draped in a man's button-down shirt, washing scandalously short hair, and singing in a ringing voice that echoed throughout the enclosure softly.

"_Buchan, it's bonny, oh and there lives my love  
My heart it lies on him, it will not remove  
It will not remove for all that I have done  
Oh never will I forget my love Annachie  
For Annachie Gordon, oh he's bonny and he's braw  
He'd entice any woman that ever him saw  
He'd entice any woman and so he has done me  
Oh never will I forget my love Annachie."_

Alek knew it was improper, but he disregarded the royal side of him temporarily to listen. She had an enchanting power in her voice. Passion. Emotion.

_"Down came her father, standing on the floor  
Saying Jeanie you're trying the tricks of a whore  
You care nothing for a man who cares so very much for thee  
You must marry with Lord Salton and leave Young Annachie  
For Annachie Gordon he's only but a man  
Although he may be pretty but where are all his lands  
Salton's lands are broad and his towers they stand high  
You must marry with Lord Salton and forget young Annachie."_

She turned and Alek almost gasped aloud, quickly ducking behind the fence with his eyes clenched shut and a face just as red as a tomato. He stayed there for a moment more, listening intently as she continued. So she hadn't noticed him; that was good.

_"With Annachie Gordon, I'd beg for my bread  
Before that I'd marry Salton with gold to my head  
With gold to my head and with gowns fringed to the knee  
Oh I'll die if I don't get me love Annachie  
And you that are my parents oh to church you may me bring  
Ah but unto Lord Salton Oh I'll never bear a son  
A son or a daughter oh I'll never bow my knee  
And I'll die if I don't get me love Annachie."_

Sheer curiosity forced him to peek around the fence once more; he was relieved when he saw that the steam from the bath and the darkness together prevented him from seeing anything too clearly. She kept singing with the same passion he'd heard before, perhaps with even more.

_"When Jeanie was married and from church she was brought home  
And she and her maidens so merry should have been  
When she and her maidens so merry should have been  
Oh she's gone to a chamber and she's crying all alone ."_

He couldn't help but think that perhaps she had experienced this kind of heartbreak to be able to sing the song so well, with so much sentiment in her voice. His heart broke for her just thinking about it.

_"'Come to bed now Jeanie, oh my honey and my sweet  
For to style you my mistress it would not be meet.'  
'Be it mistress or Jeanie it's all the same to me  
For it's in your bed Lord Salton I never shall be.'  
And up and spoke her father and he's spoken with renown;  
'All you who are her maidens won't you loosen off her gown?'  
But she fell down in a swoon, so low down by their knees  
Saying 'Look on for I'm dying for my love Annachie'."_

At this point, the woman—no, girl, he realized belatedly, she couldn't be terribly older than he was—paused for a moment in the song, then took a shuddering breath and continued. She was softer than before, but with more intensity. Her hands were open at her sides and she gazed upwards towards the half-moon waning in the sky.

_"The day that Jeanie married was the day that Jeanie died  
That's the day that young Annachie come rolling from the tide  
And down came her maidens and they're wringing of their hands  
Saying, 'Woe to you Annachie for staying from the sands  
So long from the land and so long upon the flood  
Oh they've married your Jeanie and now she is dead'._

_"'All you that are her maidens won't you take me by the hand  
Won't you lead me to the chamber that my love lies in?'  
And he's kissed her cold lips until his heart turned to stone  
And he's died in the chamber where his true love lay in."_

Alek slid away, the last notes of the song ringing in his head. Such a beautiful song, such a sad song, such a beautiful girl, beautiful voice, beautiful picture in his mind's eye… He would have to ask Dylan to help him draw such a scene; he wanted to remember it forever and ever.

Sleep came easily to him that night, imagining the lovely girl in the hot spring and her equally lovely voice.

* * *

Deryn awoke late the next morning, earning a dreadful scolding from Mr. Rigby and several dirty looks from other crewmen. She felt guilty, but at the same time, didn't at all; that late-night bath was necessary. She was sick of smelling like she'd rolled in a pile of clart. It was unpleasant, and though she may have hated it, she was still a lady after all. Ladies didn't go months without baths, regardless of whether or not they were posing as a boy.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily and dropped down beside Alek for lunch, a plate set in front of her loaded with potatoes and pot roast, quite the hearty meal. "'Lo," she said to him tiredly, picking up a fork and sticking a pile of potato into her mouth.

"Hello," he told her politely, watching her for a moment, then blushing profusely.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. "You look right embarrassed."

"Well… Erm… I… I am…"

"Over what? Have I done something?"

"No, not you… I just…"

Deryn rolled her eyes. "Barkin' spiders, Alek, just come out with it, hm?"

He looked flustered. "F-fine!" One hand supported his head on the table while the other ran through his auburn hair. "I-I need your assistance."

"With what?"

"Drawing. I need your expertise."

She frowned. "Well, sure, but why do you—?"

Alek cut her off, his green eyes penetrating her blue eyes. _Don't blush too much, Deryn,_ she told herself. "It's a private matter best not discussed here."

"Alright…?"

"Would you meet me in the old egg room tonight, say around eight, once your duties are finished?"

"'Course."

And not another word was said until that evening.

* * *

"Alek, what's this all about?" Deryn stood in the former egg room, hands on her hips with her drawing supplies scattered about at her feet.

"I need to draw something, get it all on paper."

"What is it you need to draw?"

"A girl."

Deryn felt her heart break a little bit inside. "A girl?"

"Yes. The most beautiful girl in the world."

"…well, I suppose I'll help you."

* * *

_Reviews are appreciated...!_


	2. Reject

_Wow, I'm so glad you all liked the first chapter! The response was overwhelming—five reviews in, what, barely twelve hours? Thank you all so much for your love and support! Review responses will be at the bottom of the chapter for this fic :)_

_While I was writing this, I was listening to the song "Why Did I Fall in Love With You?" by DBSK. Look it up if you'd like the vibe I got while I was writing._

_Please enjoy theme 2! I'll take a request from the first person to see the movie reference in here!_

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2. Reject

Back home, they'd called her the "goonie"—she was the town reject. She played with the boys all growing up, the girls wanting nothing to do with a rough-and-tumble child who'd rather get smeared with mud than have a tea party.

Deryn had never minded being called a "goonie". Her da had taught her when she was very small that the other girls were just jealous that she had the guts to go and do whatever she pleased. She had taken that to heart and had vowed to do whatever she pleased her whole life.

To her, being a reject had never been quite so bad.

That philosophy, however, changed the second she realized her true feelings for one Prince Aleksander. She was terrified of being rejected by him. He was the best friend she'd ever had, she realized, and it was built on a premise that was a complete _lie_. She wasn't Dylan, she was Deryn; she was a _girl_.

She supposed she should have been happy for him. He had been through so much in such a short span of time; he deserved something good to happen to him, like this girl he wanted to draw so badly. It hurt so much, but she would help him. She had to. As long as he was happy, it ought to be enough for her, right?

She took a charcoal pencil and shoved it into his hands. "Take this." She stared at it for a second, then shook her head and grabbed it back. "Never mind. Just dictate, I suppose, and I'll draw what you picture."

Alek nodded.

Deryn bit her lip and sharpened a pencil with a few quick swipes of her pocketknife. "Alright. Where to start?"

"A girl."

"You've already said that, ninny." She forced herself to chuckle and smile.

He blushed furiously. "W-well—I…!"

"Oh, relax and tell me," Deryn said, this time giggling genuinely at the look on her friend's face.

He attempted to regain his composure and coughed. "Well. Erm, she… She was in the hot spring. From the knees down. And she was wearing just an old shirt."

"Old shirt?"

"Yes. It was too big to be hers, I think it may have been a father's or a brother's shirt. The sleeves were unbuttoned."

"Aye."

And… Alek closed his eyes and leant back against the wall behind him. "She was very slender. Long arms. And she had short hair; I couldn't tell you the color of it, it was too dark."

"Aye. And did you see this girl in a dream or something?" Deryn had an eyebrow cocked as she began to sketch to his specifications.

"It must have been. But she was beautiful. And she had an angel's voice."

Deryn felt her heart break. Part of her was hoping that it was _her_ he'd seen at the hot springs—but that would have been ridiculous. And completely inappropriate; Alek must have seen this girl in a dream, he would never… She couldn't even complete the thought, it was so completely and utterly absurd.

Alek sat beside her for a good two hours as she drew, altering little things here and there. His eyes lit up as she finished shading; this was the girl. "It looks just like her."

Deryn gave him a half-hearted smile. "Yeah? Good. I'm glad." She ripped the page out of her sketchbook and handed it to him. "Here you are."

Alek slapped her back gently. "Thank you, Dylan. I appreciate it. So much." He gave her the largest smile she'd seen him give in a long while.

"You're welcome. If you'll excuse me, your princlieness…" She stood abruptly, gathering her things, and left, taking long strides towards her quarters. At least there she could cry away from prying eyes.

It was that day that she decided for sure she hated being a reject.

* * *

_There you have it, lovelies! Reviews are appreciated, as always._

_**Anonymous Reviewer:** Hmm... You're probably right. But its late at night-she doesn't assume anyone's around. You do bring up an excellent point! I'm glad you liked the first chapter :) And yes, the song is long, but its so beautiful...!_

_**Insert Lame Name Here:** First off, your profile icon made my day. Just sayin'. ;) Here is your update, dahling! I hope you enjoyed it as much as you did the first chapter :D_

_**Julia456:** Oblivious? Yes. He's intelligent... but totally people-stupid. ;) I'm glad you enjoyed theme 1, I hope you enjoyed this one as well!_

_**ByStarlight999:** Really? Hm... Well, I googled "Random word generator" and it was down the first result page a bit. Its called "creative random word generator" and it generates up to eight words at a time. I hope this helped you alittle, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter, too!_

_**HollyMarieFowl: **Yes, yes, Alek is being rather inappropriate. But in his defense... she was clothed... kind of... Haha, I'm happy you liked the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed this one, as well! And I love your username ;) AF FTW_

_**LemonRS:** Oh, the awkwardness will ABOUND. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked it! :D_


	3. Peaches

_This was written for Dalek Week on DeviantArt. It was a lot of fun to write. Modern AU concerning Bovril, pies, and Deryn._

_I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've had a lot on my plate-I'm music director for Sweeney Todd (and anyone in Southern NH should drive out and see it because it's AMAZING), plus marching band, plus my boyfriend and I broke up a little bit ago. It's been one bad thing after another in my personal life and it really isn't getting any better._

_So without furthur ado, I give you part III!_

* * *

"So, Bovril," Deryn said, putting her hands on her hips as she faced the loris sitting atop the kitchen counter. "What kind of pie shall I make for Ma's visit?"

"Peach," Bovril chirped happily, eyeing the fruit sitting in the fruit bowl on the table.

"Peach, hm?" Deryn studied the bowl of fruit and considered the idea. "Alright. Sounds like a good plan."

Deryn went about the kitchen, humming tunelessly while she prepared a crust and the filling.

Bovril watched with mild interest before scuttling off the counter and around to the stereo in the corner. He expertly jumped atop of it and pressed the power button, then hit the "tape" button. A guitar started to play and Bovril giggled contentedly.

Deryn paused as she dug through the cabinets and looked thoughtful. "One of Lilit's tapes?" she wondered aloud, then decided she didn't care and shrugged as she went back to her recipe.

_"Movin' to the country, gonna eat a lotta peaches.  
Movin' to the country, I'm gonna eat me a lotta peaches."_

Deryn continued her baking, murmuring along when she knew the lyrics and faking it when she didn't. When it ended, she glanced shiftily around the room. Seeing only Bovril lying asleep on one of the island stools, she wiped her hands and hit the rewind button, then play.

This happened several times, as Deryn deliberately took her sweet time peeling the fruit and preparing everything. By the time she was mixing the pie's filling, she was belting out the lyrics of the song as loud as the stereo. She was so loud, in fact, that she couldn't hear the sound of the front door open. She didn't hear her roommates' voices calling out "Deryn?" She danced around the kitchen with the bowl of pie filling, singing at the top of her lungs.

_"PEACHES COME FROM A CAN  
THEY WERE PUT THERE BY A MAN  
IN A FACTORY DOWNTOWN…!"_

She turned around and almost dropped the mixing bowl—Alek and Lilit stood slack-jawed in the archway, giving her the most perplexed stares she'd ever seen.

"Um… Hi?"

Bovril giggled.


End file.
